Maroon 5 will be performing at the upcoming Super Bowl LIII halftime show, but a new report suggests that the band was not the NFL’s first choice.

Musician Rihanna (pictured above left) was a front-runner for the NFL, according to Entertainment Tonight, but she declined being involved with the show because she doesn’t approve of the sport’s league’s treatment of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick — and other players who’ve knelt in protest during performance of the national anthem.

“CBS and the NFL reached out to Rihanna first, who after thinking about the offer, decided to pass due to the NFL and the situation regarding players kneeling,” a source said.

The source added that the singer “stands with the [kneeling] players and Colin Kaepernick.”

According to the report, Pink was another musician who turned down the gig.

Colin Kaepernick has been doing just fine since leaving the NFL last year. He has become the center of a recent advertising campaign for Nike, signed a lucrative book deal, and won plenty of media awards. A TV show based on his life is even in development.

His athletic career was rather average, and he was most famous for being the athlete to start the national anthem kneeling protests, which continue to this day.

While the 30-year-old filed a grievance last year stating NFL team owners were conspiring to keep him out of the sports league, he’s arguably done better off the field than he ever did on the gridiron.

Off the field, he is a hero to the Left and a successful figure. On the field, he was a quarterback who didn’t stand out until he put his politics center-stage and became a major distraction for the NFL — and an annoyance for many viewers.

Maroon 5 was a fairly controversial pick for the upcoming halftime show. It will be performing on February 4, 2019, at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

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Rihanna, 30, is most famous for songs such as “Umbrella” and “Love the Way You Lie,” a duet with rapper Eminem.

Maroon 5, lead by Adam Levine of “The Voice,” is a Los Angeles pop rock band best known for “Harder to Breathe” and “Girls Like You,” a recent duet with rapper Cardi B, among other songs.

Other recent Super Bowl halftime performers include Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

For more on Rihanna’s turning down the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show, check out the video below: